January

January has been a bit of a rough month around here, but it needs to be documented.  It all started with crazy plans (our own crazy plans) to remodel our house to make room for our little girl.  Per my request we waited until after the Holidays to begin.  I was not to excited to pack up everything in our bedroom, I was downright grumpy about it.

Unfortunately we discovered the roof to the shop (where we were going to store everything during the remodel) had multiple leaks.  Before we could move our stuff out it was decided that Steve and his dad would replace the bad parts of the roof and re-shingle the whole roof.  After religiously checking the weather for days Steve tore off the roof on Thursday (Jan 3rd), his dad arrived Friday (Jan 4th) and they began the repairs. Saturday started off well enough but the forecast had changed, some small showers/sprinkles were predicted for that evening.  Mid afternoon the forecast was proved wrong when we were hit with an absolute downpour with only 1/4 of the new shingles on.  My dad saved the day with some huge tarps and they called it a day.  Despite that setback they were able to finish the roof and now the shop had leak free roof.  The next week Steve re-arranged the shop and we moved out of our bedroom.  I may or may not have shed tears of frustration and exhaustion but we got it done and Wednesday we moved in with my parents for the duration of the remodel.  Both for our sanity and to speed up the remodel.

My parents had been experiencing there own problem filled month on their own, they had a broken pipe around the first of the year, discovered a oak tree in their yard need removal due to its trunk and roots rotting away, and the pump on their well quit.  

Apparently moving in together just combined our bad luck and the problems continued!  Saturday my mom discovered yet another broken pipe (this time in the cellar) that had to be fixed.  Sunday (the 13th!) came and we were all thankful to have water an no more broken pipes.  It was a bit chilly in the house since the fire in the main wood stove had gone out during the night leaving un-burned logs.  We decided to just wait until after church to build a new fire instead of dealing with it that morning (the other wood stove was going fine).

My parents had church meetings in Willits that day so we went our separate ways.  Steve, Ally and I got back to my parents house and went about getting the house warm again.  Steve had a little trouble getting the fire to go but we eventually had a nice roaring fire.  When I closed down the wood stove to regulate the fire we noticed smoke coming out of weird places around the insert and out the old heat-a-later vents.  Steve checked the chimney outside and noticed smoke coming out between the rocks in the chimney.  He got a ladder and went up to investigate while I shut down the stove completely.  He determined the chimney was clogged and tried to clear it out as best he could.

He kept working trying to clean the chimney and check the attic spaces to make sure there weren't any other hot spots.  I attempted to take a nap but Ally woke up.  I ended up putting on a Sing a Long movie in hopes I could rest on the couch while she watched the show.  The second time through the movie Ally asked "mommy, what is that" I looked up and saw flames coming through the wall above the mantel.  I jumped up and started moving things off the mantel, even blowing out the flames on the old clock.  I told Ally to grab her froggy blanket and we were going outside to find daddy.  As we headed out he came in.   The rest is a blur of activity, I called 911 and then my parents who were still an hour away.  Steve threw water on the flames and tore into the wall to get to the fire.  After putting Ally in the guest room (not connected to the house) I fed the hose through the window to Steve and then found the fire extinguisher and gave it to Steve.  He got the flames out as we anxiously waited for the fire department.  It felt like it took them forever to get there, after about 20 minutes they finally arrived.

It was a long night while the fire fighters checked everything making sure the fire was completely out.  My mom had called the Allreds to come over and be with us, Sue kept Ally entertained with her iphone while Val helped Steve empty the bookshelves.  Allyson didn't get scared at all, she loved seeing the firemen and playing with Sue.  It was a long stressful night for the rest of us to say the least.

We moved in with the Allreds for the week while the cleaners worked on getting the smoke out of the house. Allyson handled all the house hopping really well, making herself at home wherever we were.  When I would say "lets go home now" she would ask "what home?" wanting to know if it was our house, Grandma's house or SuSu's house.

Pulling out the insert to clear out the chimney

The damage, still waiting for the repairs!

We are back in with my parents, the fireplace area is taped off with plastic while we wait for the repairs to be approved by insurance.  Thankfully things have calmed down a little and are beginning to get back to normal.

It has certainly been a January to remember, and we are glad to see that it is over!